Flight Week #1 and more!

Saturn, here I come!

This Wednesday we will be at St. Francis of Assisi, where we will run a craft activity.  Flight Week #1 will involve the boys building their own toy rocket.  As part of this, I ask if everyone could please send their child with a 500ml or 750ml water/pop plastic bottle, which we will use as the foundation of the toy.  I will have a large selection of construction paper that we will cut into the shapes needed...and from experience I think we will go with scotch tape vs glue to hold everything together.  We then still have lots of stickers and crayons that the boys can use to personalize them.

Another aspect of the craft that actually fits a Scouts Canada agenda is the concept of recycling.  From today to May 3rd, Scouts Canada are endorsing a Good Turn week...where we encourage all members of Scouting to be helpful to others - whether that be their friends, family or the community at large.  It also fits that Tree Planting is on May 3rd!!!


A reminder to the White Tails that they have one more Cub meeting that they may attend this session....this Tuesday the 28th at Holy Cross Catholic School.  6:45 - 8:15.  We only had one Beaver come to the last one, so it would be great if we can get more so they get to know you!  Last weeks hike was postponed, so they may be doing it this week....please bring options for outdoor OR indoor play depending on weather.  If you have specific questions about the evening, you can contact Sandra Slade at sanslade@rogers.com.


One more thing before I sign off.  Another major aspect of Scouts Canada that we need to endorse more is outdoors play...whether that be sports, hiking, camping or anything that will keep that great big ball in the sky shining good Vitamin D on your child's skin.  Many families don't actually have the supplies that could encourage the kids to play more so I will begin posting local deals that I'm hearing about to help you out.  If you have one for me that you'd like to share, please send it to me!

• Ethan's dad Craig contacted me about a deal at http://www.kingsdistribution.ca/ in Barrie, where they had an Coleman 8 person tent on sale for $100.00.  Supplies may be limited.
• There is a Mountain Warehouse at the Tangers Mall, and they are having a Summer Event sale on April 30th from 3pm-10pm.  They will have demos as well.  I already sent out an e-mail to everyone...but if it's been lost and you'd like to see it again, please let me know and I'll get that to you right away. 

Bird House Craft and White Tail Camp

Build me a house, please!

The meeting on April 8th will find us back at the school, where the plan is to build bird houses.  Our first source of bird house kits has fallen through but I will be aiming to deal with a secondary source tomorrow.  If that doesn't work then I will come up with an alternate craft program.  Volunteers would be appreciate to help the boys put kits together...please bring a hammer.

White Tail Camp is back on at a new location!



Camp Neekaunis

This camp will be for the third year Beavers to prepare them to join Cubs.  The camp will be at Camp Neekaunis, which is about fifteen minutes east of Midland. 

The dates are May 1st - May 2nd OR May 2nd - May 3rd.  The cost of the camp will be $35, which covers camp rental, food, badges and craft materials.  Arrival time is 7:15pm on the evening of whichever session is picked, and pick-up time is normally around noon the next day (exact time will be determined).

I need to know this week who is available either date so we can plan to go together.  Please discuss in advance.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

Ringtail

Dinosaurs!

Between Remembrance day and planning for the Christmas parade we have decided to give the boys a change of pace and have them stretch their imaginations a little bit.  Our theme for this meeting will be Dinosaurs!

I'm planning out a little craft for them and there will be games to play...and time permitting a little story to tell.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Ringtail

By the way, I still have leftover scissors from our last craft.  Please see me if you are missing yours.

Ringtail's crafty musings: Our Hike

 During our hike with the cubs this past week, we encountered quite a few plants - and of course it is most children's basic instinct to grab, hold and inspect everything they come across. 

Not everything on the trail is necessarily the safest thing for kids to hold though and so we need to encourage them to "see with their eyes and not with their hands".

But what to do with a child like I was - who wanted to collect everything they came across?  Well...give them a digital camera and let them go to work, taking as many pictures as they want.  Copy these to a personal computer and have your child pick the ones they like the best.

With a little digital knowhow - which most kids have in spades, you could put together something like the collage I've created here.  If you ever want ideas of great and free software that can assist with this - let me know.  I personally use Photoshop.

These pictures were taken while I took my kids out yesterday on one of our local hiking trails with the purpose of collecting as many different kinds of leaves as they want.  They were my test subjects for the leaf collection hike we have this coming Wednesday.  I was thinking of different ways to make this craft idea more spiffy...and of course individual shots of colour from flowers would make a large difference.

 

The reality is, there is no limit to what the kids can do...it all comes down to time and imagination.

 

If you have ideas of crafts, please let us know - I'd encourage a guest post!!!

 

Ringtail